Coming Home
by feministkendra
Summary: Post Dragonwatch 2. Kendra is reunited with the ones she loves most.


**A/N: DRAGONWATCH 2 SPOILERS! I had a headcanon after the ending to the last book and it snowballed from there. (Note: Kendra is a year or two older than in canon in this oneshot)**

* * *

Warren sighed as he hung his gear up in his closet. Vanessa and himself had finally come back home after a long, hard, mission. They had spent months working with the caretakers of one of the secret preserves trying to come to an understanding between the ogres and centaurs, which had proven to be a real pain in the ass.

Dale had greeted them at the door and Kendra and Seth's other grandparents had been in the kitchen to say hello but so far there had been no sign of his cousins or Stan and Ruth which was strange. Warren had fully expected Kendra to come running out the door and give them a huge hug and for Seth to bombard them with questions about the mission, but the two had been out of sight.

Walking out of his room and down the stairs, he stumbled on Stan, looking a bit frazzled and apprehensive. "Hey! Stan! I was just looking for you!"

"Ah, Warren. It is so good to have you back." The old man said with a smile, giving Warren a firm hug. But Warren could tell something was off. Alarm bells started to ring in his head.

"What's up? Where are the kids?"

Stan winced. "Get Vanessa, I'd rather not explain this twice."

Warren didn't waste any time dragging Vanessa downstairs and into Stan's study. He could just tell something was up with the kids and he didn't like how Stan had reacted to him questioning where they were.

"Okay, so what is this big important meeting about that is keeping me from a well-deserved nap?" Vanessa grumbled, flicking her hair out of her face bitterly. Warren sat upright in his chair, eager to know what Stan needed to tell them.

Stan swiped a hand over his face. "It's a long story. So, it would be best if you prepare yourselves to be here a while."

Vanessa and Warren shared a look.

"We'll be fine. Tell us everything." Warren said. Stand nodded, sat up a bit straighter and began talking.

* * *

Warren blinked once. Then twice. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Kendra and Seth made caretakers of Wrymroost. Bracken was captured. There was a war declared against Kendra and Seth by the king of the dragons, Celebrant. Seth was captured and his memories had been wiped.

And that was only the major happenings.

Stan had finished the story a whole minute ago and still, no one had spoken. The silence was tense as Vanessa and Warren tried to collect their thoughts on all the information they had just received.

"Stan, I love you. You know this. So please forgive me when I say that," Warren paused before exploding. "You must be out of your _goddamn mind!_ Sending Kendra and Seth to be caretaker of that cursed dragon sanctuary?! Are you kidding me?!"

"I was backed into a corner Warren, Agad thought it would be best-"

"Screw that old wizard! How could you even ask them to do such a thing!"

"They agreed!" Stan threw his hands up in the air.

"Oh please! You know as well as I do that Seth agreed because he thought it was cool! He wanted to be in charge of dragons and make all the rules and go on an adventure!" Warren yelled, standing up.

"And _Kendra?_ Kendra most definitely did not want to do this! I can guarantee you that! She agrees because that girl can't bear to disappoint you and thought that you wanted her to do it! She said yes because I bet anything her little brother was begging her into it! Because she wanted to be brave for you! So don't give me that 'they agreed' crap!"

Vanessa stood up then, having been silent the whole exchange and placed a hand on Warren's chest.

"Calm down. We don't need a fight right now." She told him firmly. He took a deep breath and nodded, stepping back and running a hand over his face.

"How fast can we get to Wrymroost?" Vanessa asked Stan.

"You could leave right now if you so pleased, we have recovered the barrel, after all," Stan answered, standing up and leading them out of the room. "Kendra will be happy to see you both, she's been trying to strategize our next move and keep the sanctuary calm."

Warren felt his heart constrict with worry as he thought of Kendra all alone running a dragon sanctuary. He knew her well and knew she must be terribly stressed out.

With the loss of Bracken and now her brother, Warren couldn't imagine what kind of state he was going to find her in.

* * *

"The talking animals could help but that's also a long journey and it's not possible for them to make it on time."

"Also think of the fight between the ogres and the trolls. The area is destroyed and nearby creatures are complaining, demanding something be done."

"Don't forget the fairies are complaining that-"

Warren could hear voices talking urgently. By the sound of it, they were swamped with problems and even just listening to what he had just heard made him annoyed.

He imagined it was ten times worse for Kendra.

Turning the corner, Warren finally got a look at his little cousin for the first time and months. For a second he was so overwhelmed with emotion he couldn't speak.

Kendra still hadn't noticed him, looking back and forth to the people in front of her. He could tell be the look on her face she was stressed but trying to hide it. Her hair was thrown up in a messy bun and she had definitely lost quite a bit of weight since he last saw her. Kendra had turned seventeen while he was gone but she looked so young right now that he felt like he had traveled back in time to when she was only fourteen.

Warren was overcome with the overwhelming need to scoop her up in his arms and take her away from everything and he started walking towards her.

"Kendra!" He shouted. Kendra turned, a look of apprehension on her face that melted into shock then slowly crumpled as she burst into tears.

"Oh my God, Warren!" Kendra cried as she started running towards him, he jogged to meet her and when she was near enough he threw his arms around her, picking her up and spinning her around.

"Hey, kiddo."

"I've missed you so much." She whispered, little arms holding onto him as tight as she could. Warren pulled back, scanning her face and wiping the tears away.

"Why don't you and I find somewhere to talk, hm?" He said softly, giving her a smile. Kendra took a deep breath and nodded at him. Warren held out his hand which she took and began leading him to wherever she had in mind.

As they walked, they occasionally ran into another creature or person of sorts who would try to stop Kendra and talk to her about some problem or another but each time Warren stepped in and informed them that Kendra had to deal with an 'urgent' matter with him that was time sensitive and lead her away.

He could see Kendra glance back each time but thankfully she kept walking. Eventually, she stopped in front of a door, placing her hand on the knob she paused, eyes trailing away. Warren followed her gaze to a door a few yards away. Squinting, he saw that the name 'Seth' had been crudely carved into it.

"Kendra? Everything okay?" he asked hesitantly. This seemed to snap her out of her thoughts and she cleared her throat, mumbled something Warren couldn't quite catch and pushed the door in front of them open.

"Welcome to my room. Sorry, it's a little messy, I just haven't had time to clean it," she said, bending down to pick up a few dirty clothes and throw them in the nearby hamper. Warren glanced around the room curiously.

"K, this room isn't messy, don't worry," There were a bunch of papers and books strewn around the desk and Kendra was busy picking up the last few articles of clothing that were thrown on the floor but besides that it was clean. Even her bed was made.

"Yeah, for you maybe not. But for me it is."

Warren chuckled, knowing she was right about her tendency to need things clean. "Okay, sure. But still, don't worry about it. Let's just sit down."

He walked over to her bed which had her pink comforter from back home on it and plopped down and patted the spot next to him. Kendra followed and sat down, a little more gracefully than him.

"So, I guess there is no use beating around the bush. Things have really...gone to shit while I was gone, huh?"

"That's one way to put it."

"Talk to me, how are you holding up?"

Kendra breathed in deep through her nose, she tilted her head back with her eyes closed. "I…"

"The honest answer please," Warren added.

"You sure you want the truth?" she met his eye and asked. When he nodded she sighed and turned her body in the bed to face him fully so he copied her, both of them sitting with their legs folded in front of them.

"Go on, you can tell me."

"Well, honestly Warren? I don't know how I even get out of bed some days. I feel like screaming or crying or giving up or just about every negative emotion you could possibly feel all at once. I haven't been able to sleep, I've been overworked, dealing with problem after problem after problem and to top it all off I have a _war_ on my hands."

Warren nodded and listened to sympathetically, but he couldn't help but notice she left a few big things out. "Not to mention...Bracken and Seth."

"...Yeah. That's been the rotten cherry on top of a huge horribly made, burnt, cake," she shook her head and picked at a thread on the comforter. Warren patiently waited for her to continue. "My brother not only is taken from me by an evil dark unicorn but he doesn't even know that he is captured or who he even is. He is being lied to and manipulated told he is Ronodin's...whatever, and I can't do anything about it. I can't help him."

Her voice broke at the end of the sentence and Warren took her hand softly in an attempt to comfort her but said nothing, instead, he let her get it all out.

"Then, Bracken is captured, taken prisoner by his evil cousin. The only reason I even have a shred of hope regarding his capture is that he is at the very least, alive. His horn isn't destroyed so he's alive. But he also isn't answering any messages or giving me any sign he is out there. What does that say about the state he is in?"

Kendra compressed her lips and Warren saw a tear drop from her eyes to the comforter below. He ran his thumb over her knuckles, he felt a pang in his chest as he thought of how she must be feeling. He thought of how he would feel if this was him and Dale and Vanessa had been put in the same situation and he felt his eyes sting with his own tears at the very thought.

"I at least know he, hopefully, won't kill or harm Seth because Seth thinks Ronodin is on his side and that I'm the bad one. He's at least physically safe, Ronodin is probably even teaching him how to use his dark powers to use against us...against me."

She took another shaky breath before she pressed on. "But Bracken? God, Warren...I don't even know what to think. Every day I fear that I'll find his horn destroyed, that he will be killed. I don't even know what I will do if that happens...how I'll cope. I...I can't lose him, Warr. I can't, I just can't."

Kendra finally broke down into tears and Warren immediately reached over and pulled her over into his lap and held her close. "Shh, Kens. It's okay, it's okay."

"I-It's _not_ though. It's not okay, what if we never get them back? What if Seth ever remembers who he really is? What if Ronodin kills Bracken? What if-"

Warren gently but firmly took her chin and aimed her head to look at him, interrupting her ranting. "Kendra! Stop, thinking of the what if's isn't going to do anything but upset you further. So please, take a deep breath and listen."

Kendra closed her eyes and did as she was told. He waited until she opened her eyes again before he continued. "Look, I honestly don't know what will happen in the future. I never in a million years thought I would live to see the day you were caretaker of Wyrmroost. Yet, here we are. But what I do know is that we will stop at nothing to bring Seth and Bracken back home."

"But-"

"Shh," he quickly hushed her before she could get worked up again. "I myself, will not rest until I have done every possible thing to have them back where they belong. They are family. Both of them. As for Seth's memories, there has to be something or someone out there that can reverse the magic on him. Remember how Dale never stopped looking for a cure for me?"

Kendra nodded slowly, she blinked up at him and more tears fell down her face. It caused Warren's heart to pang and he quickly wiped them away.

"That's what we will do for Seth, yeah?" She nodded again.

"What about Bracken, Warr? I know he is strong...but I'm so worried about him. I keep getting nightmares where he is being hurt, and I can't do anything about it. Ronodin probably hates him and who knows what kind of magic he can use against Bracken and I-"

Warren watched Kendra cut herself off and squeezed her eyes shut. Her young face held so much pain in it that Warren truly felt like his stomach had been tied in knots. He pulled her into a close hug and kissed the top of her head.

"You love him, don't you?"

It was a simple question but it held a much deeper meaning. Warren could recognize the pain of fearing for the well being and life of someone you love. He had spent months doing it with Vanessa while on their mission. There had been a time where they got separated and he had spent a week fearing the worst. And now, Kendra was feeling the same way on a much bigger scale.

"Yes. I really do, Warr. So much," she whispered faintly. "I don't know if it's just as friends or romantically. But I do know I really, really, love him. He's family, he's special to me, he's...he's...he's Bracken."

Warren smiled, her honest and emotional answer warmed his heart. Sure, Kendra was young, but she was mature beyond her years and he knew she would never rush into something she wasn't sure of. He also knew Bracken wouldn't pressure her into anything she wasn't ready for, and it made Warren's job as her honorary protector very easy. Besides, Kendra deserved all the love in the world and Bracken was the type of guy that would stop at nothing to give her just that.

"I'm happy to hear that, Kens. And you know what?" Kendra looked at him questioningly, her green eyes still shining with tears."Someday, you can tell him all that yourself."

"I hope so, Warr. I really hope so."

* * *

"Happy birthday, dear Kendra! Happy birthday to you!"

Everyone cheered as Kendra smiled and thanked them. She turned eighteen today and her family had gathered at Wyrmroost to celebrate it with her. Even Trask, Mara and Elise had turned up and it made Kendra feel warm inside to have everyone with her.

Well, almost everyone.

"Well, what are you waiting for! Make a wish and blow out the candles!" Warren's voice snapped her out of her train of thought. Kendra compressed her lips and closed her eyes.

A wish. What did she wish? It came to her as easy as breathing.

'I wish Seth had his memories back.'

Kendra opened her eyes, took a deep breath and blew out the candles on the cake as the rest of her family cheered. As her grandma took the cake away to cut it up Kendra caught Vanessa's gaze.

"So, Kendra,' the older women started. "You're finally an adult. What did you wish for?"

"For Warren to make it through the year without injury," she replied easily with a laugh.

"Hey! I'm being attacked for nothing!" Warren feigned outrage but the smile on his face showed his true feelings.

Kendra laughed feeling as happy as she could possibly feel these days. As the rest of the group fell into easy conversation, she sat there and listened. But truthfully her mind was miles and miles away.

Where was her brother? Will he ever come home? And what about Bracken? Was he safe? Was he hurt?

More and more questions flooded her mind. It had been over two months since she last saw her brother and even longer since she saw Bracken. It pained her to think that she was here celebrating while Bracken was hurting and Seth was being manipulated and lied to.

She felt like a traitor.

"What are you thinking about?" came a voice in her ear. She jumped and turned to see a smiling Tanu. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you kid."

"It's okay, Tanu," she smiled easily. Kendra paused, considering lying to him about her thoughts but in the end decided against it. "I'm just thinking about Seth and Bracken...I wish they were here."

Tanu sighed softly, patting her head and smoothing her hair down. "I do too, Kendra. I do too."

With that, he took a seat next to her and began telling her about this potion that is rumored to make you fly. When the cake came, Warren had surprised her by smearing frosting on her cheek which she retaliated by smashing her piece of cake in his face. Grandpa Stan had stopped it before an all-out food fight started but she didn't mind.

Kendra found herself laughing more and more, allowing herself these few precious moments of happiness. She would probably need them to look back on in the coming months.

* * *

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Kendra listened to the clock on her wall tick over and over as she laid in her bed. Today was a hard day. She didn't even want to get out of bed, it felt like if she did she would surely just collapse on the floor.

Some days were worse than others and today just happened to be one of them. She had a nightmare the previous night and now she just felt empty, scared and incredibly sad. Why bother getting out of bed? People would just bombard her with problems they rely on her to fix and load her shoulders with more expectations than she could carry.

Suddenly, her door flew open, revealing an out of breath Warren. "Kens! Get up! You have to see this now!"

And with that, he was gone. Kendra sighed, hauling herself out of bed, she threw on clothes put Bracken's horn in the belt loop and grabbed her magical bow and arrow, slinging the quiver over her shoulders.

Walking out to the perch, she mentally prepared herself for a fight. Was Celebrant back again? Another dragon? What would she possibly have to deal with now? She saw her family grouped up again, talking to someone or something she couldn't see.

"Okay, I'm here. What's the problem now?" she called as she drew within earshot. Her family turned and then parted so she could see who they were speaking too.

Kendra stopped walking.

Her mind went blank.

Her breath stopped.

Seth.

Seth was standing there, smiling at her. He was here.

"Hey, K. Long time no see, huh?" he chuckled.

Kendra dropped her bow and just ran. She slammed into him with a fierce hug that he returned just as hard. She was crying at this point, breath coming in short shaky gasps as she tried to wrap her head around what was happening.

"Seth, oh my God, you're here." She sobbed, pulling back and placing her hands on either side of his face, searching his eyes and feeling immense relief when she could place recognition in them. "H-how are you here? I don't understand."

Seth smiled wetly at her, tears streaming down his own face. "Same as I left, I came through the barrel."

"But your memories-"

"Are back."

 _"What?"_ Kendra gasped and hugged him again. She had figured his memory had returned but when she heard him say so, it made her heart soar. "How? How did they come back?"

"I don't know," he whispered in her ear. "Just two days ago, I was in my room back where Ronodin had me and all of a sudden I just put two and two together and everything came flooding back."

Kendra pulled away again, leaving her hands on his shoulders and staring at her brother in amazement. "How could it be that simple all along?"

"I mean, some things are still hazy. But I had been having dreams of my life, sometimes even daydreams, and finally I just realized Ronodin was a dirty liar and that's when everything became clearer."

Seth was smiling at her still, his grin so wide it hurt her own cheeks just looking at him. Or maybe that was because her smile was just as wide. "So, how did you escape?"

That made Seth's eyes shine with a familiar glint of mischief. "Now you're asking the right questions, sis! I had to wait until he left me alone and pretend I was still on his side. Then I found where the barrel was hidden and we hopped in and it brought us back here!"

"We?" Kendra frowned. Seth grinned even wider if possible and jerked his head to the side. Kendra followed the path until her eyes landed on someone.

Someone with silver hair, blue eyes, and a warm smile.

It was Bracken.

"Oh my God…" she whispered, hands dropping from Seth's shoulders in shock.

"Hey, Kendra," Bracken said, his accented voice sounding like music in her ears. Kendra stood there for a moment before walking closer hesitantly. "It's really me. It's okay."

That was all she needed before she was in his arms, giving the second biggest hug she could give today. Her tears were back but for once at least they were happy tears. She clutched him close, standing on her tiptoes and not caring about anyone else for the moment.

"Are you okay? Oh God, Bracken, I've been so worried," she whispered in his ear worriedly.

"I'm okay. I promise I'm so sorry Kendra," he muttered back, hands rubbing her back soothingly. Kendra pulled back a little to take in his face.

"What are you sorry for? Bracken, this wasn't your fault."

"I'm sorry that you've had to deal with so much all on your own."

"I had my family, I was okay."

"I should have stayed with you instead of going after Ronodin." he insisted. Kendra shook her head, placing a hand on his cheek.

"I don't care about the past, Bracken. What I care about is that you and Seth are home." she consoled him, thumb brushing on his cheekbone that stuck out too prominently for her liking.

Bracken's hand came up to cover her hand as he stared into her eyes as if she was the only things that mattered. Kendra's heart fluttered looking into those silvery blue eyes, she wondered how eyes with such a cool toned color could be so warm to her.

"Everyone went inside." Bracken murmured. "Do you wish to follow them?"

"No," Kendra sighed. "But I do want to do this."

And then she kissed him.

Kendra felt Bracken pause for a second, before returning the kiss softly, on hand on her waist and the other still on her hand on his cheek. Kendra felt her stomach swoop as their lips moved against each other, and the only thing she could think was, finally.

Bracken pulled away, chuckling. Kendra realized with a laugh of her own that he had heard that thought. "Can you blame me?"

"No, I really can not." he breathed "For I share the same sentiment."

They stood there for another minute, foreheads touching and lips occasionally brushing against each other. Kendra eventually stepped back, keeping her hand in his. She jerked her head back to the Keep and he nodded, following her lead.

Before they got to the door, he tugged on her hand to get her to stop and turn around. Kendra looked at him questioningly. "I need to ask. Kendra, are you sure you are ready? I don't want you rushing into this only because you are excited to see me or missed me or-"

"Bracken!" she interrupted his rambling. Bracken paused, looking at her with hesitant eyes. "I am more than ready. I've been thinking and yeah sure, I only just turned eighteen but we can take things slow and at our own pace."

She took a deep breath before continuing. "I hated thinking that I might never get the chance to be yours while you were gone, and I don't ever want to feel that way again. I want to be yours and for you to be mine because...because I love you."

Kendra saw Bracken's eyes widened before they softened and became shiny. He stepped forward and captured her lips in a gentle kiss. Once he pulled away, Kendra felt a rush of happiness come from their joined hands and realized it was Bracken's emotions.

"I love you, too, Kendra. So much," he whispered. Kendra thought her heart was going to fly straight out of her chest as she stared into Bracken's eyes. "Come on, you should go talk with your brother. I'm sure he missed you just as much as me."

"You two couldn't have missed me as much as I missed you both. I'm sure of it." Kendra said, walking to the door and pulling it open. They went and met with the rest of her family who was sitting at the dinner table.

Everything felt so wonderful as they talked, laughed and caught up with each other. Seth demonstrated his new talent of putting out small fires and complimented Kendra on running the sanctuary so well without him.

While Seth was telling a story of how he used a wraiths life force to lower the temperature once, Kendra caught Warren's eye. He quirked an eyebrow, eyes straying to Bracken next to her and back again. Kendra compressed her lips against a smile, slightly blushing.

Warren grinned at her, giving her a sly thumbs up. Kendra couldn't hold back a smile at that, glancing over at Bracken who was listening to Seth's story with great interest. She knew they still had a war to fight, and Ronodin would be back. But for now, her family was whole.

And now that Seth was back, she finally had the other half of her home.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you liked it! Sorry I know I've been promising an update to Power of the Mind, I just haven't had the inspiration for that particular story just yet, but I promise to try and get to it soon!**


End file.
